Dalai Lama mourns demise of fellow Nobel Laureate John Hume

Dharamshala: Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel laureate the Dalai Lama expressed condolences over the demise of Northern Irish politician and fellow Nobel laureate John Hume who died on Monday at 83, following a long period of illness. John Hume, the visionary politician who won a Nobel Peace Prize for fashioning the agreement that ended violence in his native Northern Ireland.

In his condolence message to the wife of the late Nobel laureate, Dalai Lama wrote Today from Dharamshala, “I was pleased to be able to meet your husband during one of my several visits to Northern Ireland. His deep conviction in the power of dialogue and negotiations to resolve conflict was unwavering. It was his leadership and his faith in the power of negotiations that enabled the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to be reached. His steady persistence set an example for all of us to follow.”

His Holiness The Dalai Lama concluded with the observation that Hume’s dedication to peace and nonviolence in the resolution of conflict, no matter how protracted or difficult it may seem to be, will long survive him and noted that he had lived a meaningful life.